1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to piston engines, such as internal combustion engines. More specifically, the present invention concerns a one cycle internal combustion engine including a double-acting piston that is powered on every stroke. The piston is driven by combusting an organic fuel (e.g., diesel fuel, gasoline, etc.) inside the cylinder and expanding a noncombustible inorganic material (e.g., steam, etc.) inside the cylinder. The combustible organic fuel and the noncombustible inorganic material can be used in isolation to power alternative strokes or may be used in combination to power each stroke. A temperature controlled storage and delivery system on the intake and a neutralizing condenser controlled by a sail switch on the exhaust are also provided by the present invention to enable a continuous, reusable supply of the inorganic material to the piston.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Internal combustion piston engines are well known in the art for providing power in various applications (e.g., for powering vehicles, mowers, machines, etc.). Internal combustion engines typically combust an organic fuel (e.g., diesel fuel, gasoline, etc.) to power the piston through a power stroke. These engines have traditionally been multi-cycle engines wherein the piston is powered through the down stroke only once during the series of multiple strokes comprising the cycle. For example, two and four cycle engines are prevalent wherein the corresponding cycles include one power stroke for every two and four strokes of the piston, respectively. These intermittent power strokes are designed to minimize the high operating temperatures associated with repeated internal combustion. However, these intermittent power strokes do not provide the desired power output. Accordingly, these prior art engines typically utilize multiple pistons that are conventionally connected to the crank shaft in series and are offset in their firing times according to stroke cycle in order to supply the desired operating power. For example, a four cycle engine will typically include eight pistons timed to fire in series every ninety degrees of crank shaft rotation. Unfortunately, these prior art internal combustion engines are relatively complex in their construction and timing and thus are undesirably large, heavy and part-intensive. Additionally, these engines are undesirably high pollutant.
There are a few internal combustion one cycle engines known in the art, however, none have met with any commercial success. It is believed this is largely attributable to the fact that these prior art one cycle combustion engines are associated with undesirably high operating temperatures and thus the components are particularly susceptible to wear and degradation caused by heat. In addition, these one cycle engines, like the multi-cycle engines described above, are undesirably prone to degradation during start ups, particularly cold start ups.
Steam engines are known in the art, however, they largely fell out of favor with the introduction of the internal combustion engines discussed above. Steam engines do not operate at the higher operating temperatures associated with internal combustion engines, however, they also require undesirably large or numerous pistons to provide the power desired for many current applications such as powered vehicles. There are also a few prior art multi-cycle engines that have utilized steam to xe2x80x9cboostxe2x80x9d or assist the power stroke provided by internal combustion. However, these prior art engines are problematic and subject to several limitations. For example, a water supply must be provided that is not subject to freezing (or prematurely converting to steam) within the engine and that is separated from any other engine coolant (e.g., antifreeze, oil, etc.) to prevent undesirably damaging the engine components. Prior art steam engines have heretofore been unable to sufficiently, effectively and efficiently prevent the water supply from freezing within the engine. For example, steam was used to xe2x80x9cboostxe2x80x9d the power stroke of engines that powered certain naval aircraft during the war in order to allow the planes to safely make it back to an aircraft carrier. However, once the steam assist was implemented, the engines would no longer be suitable for reuse.
The present invention provides an improved one cycle internal combustion engine that does not suffer from the problems and limitations of the prior art engines detailed above. The engine of the present invention includes a double-acting piston that is powered on every stroke. The inventive piston is driven by combusting an organic fuel, preferably diesel fuel, inside the cylinder and expanding a noncombustible inorganic material, preferably steam, inside the cylinder. In a preferred embodiment, the fuel and the steam are used to sequentially power alternative strokes of the piston. In a preferred alternative embodiment, the fuel and steam are used in combination to power each stroke. The preferred embodiment of the inventive engine also includes a temperature controlled storage and delivery system on the intake and a neutralizing condenser controlled by a sail switch on the exhaust that enable a continuous, reusable supply of steam to the piston and greatly reduces the degradation problems associated with cold start ups.
A first aspect of the present invention concerns an engine broadly including a cylinder, a piston slidably received in the cylinder and shiftable in opposite first and second directions, a first power source operable to alternately shift the piston in the first and second directions, and a second power source operable to alternately shift the piston in the first and second directions. The first power source includes a combustible organic fuel and means for combusting the organic fuel inside the cylinder. The second power source includes a noncombustible inorganic material and means for expanding the material inside the cylinder.
A second aspect of the present invention concerns an engine in a powered vehicle for powering the vehicle. The engine broadly includes a cylinder, a piston slidably received in the cylinder and shiftable in opposite first and second directions, a first power source operable to alternately shift the piston in the first and second directions, and a second power source operable to alternately shift the piston in the first and second directions. The first power source includes a combustible organic fuel and means for combusting the organic fuel inside the cylinder. The second power source includes a noncombustible inorganic material and means for expanding the material inside the cylinder.
A third aspect of the present invention concerns a method of using energy to develop mechanical power. The method broadly includes the steps of (a) placing a piston in a cylinder, (b) expanding gas in the cylinder above the piston to drive the piston down the cylinder, and (c) after step (b), expanding gas in the cylinder below the piston to drive the piston up the cylinder. At least one of steps (b) or (c) is performed by utilizing a phase change to create at least some of the expanding gas. At least one of steps (b) or (c) is performed by utilizing a chemical reaction to create at least some of the expanding gas.
A fourth aspect of the present invention concerns an engine broadly including a cylinder, a piston slidably received in the cylinder, a first power source operable to slide the piston, a storage tank in fluid communication with the cylinder, and an insulated box encasing the cylinder, the piston, and the storage tank. The first power source includes a noncombustible inorganic material and means for expanding the material inside the cylinder. The storage tank is operable to store the inorganic material for delivery to the cylinder. The box is formed in major portion of resin.
A fifth aspect of the present invention concerns an engine broadly including a cylinder, a piston slidably received in the cylinder and shiftable in opposite first and second directions, a first power source operable to alternately shift the piston in the first and second directions, a second power source operable to alternately shift the piston in the first and second directions, a storage tank in fluid communication with the cylinder, an insulated box encasing the cylinder, the piston, and the storage tank, and a condenser in fluid communication with the cylinder and being operable to collect substantially all gases exhausted from the cylinder. The first power source includes a combustible organic fuel and means for combusting the organic fuel inside the cylinder. The second power source includes a noncombustible inorganic material and means for expanding the material inside the cylinder. The storage tank is operable to store the inorganic material for delivery to the cylinder. The box is formed in major portion of resin. The cylinder includes a cylinder head and a cylinder foot spaced from the cylinder head, each being operable to generally seal the cylinder. The cylinder presents internal spaced apart first and second chambers defined between the cylinder head and foot. The piston includes a piston head. The piston is shiftable between a first position wherein the piston head is located in the first chamber and a second position wherein the piston head is located in the second chamber. The first power source includes a first injector operable to inject the combustible organic fuel into said first chamber. The first power source is operable to shift the piston from the first position to the second position. The condenser includes a fan operable to cool the gases sufficiently to convert any steam collected back into water. The fan includes a sail switch operable to activate the fan in response to the relevant speed of ambient air flow adjacent the switch. The condenser further includes a filter operable to generally filter impurities from the converted water. The filter includes a neutralizer operable to add a base to the converted water sufficient to neutralize the converted water.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawing figures.